Too Young to Be a Mother
by inknamida
Summary: Hiei meets an interesting human in a bar, not realizing that the woman is Atsuko Urameshi, mother of one of his friends. Apparently, Atsuko's job entails more than extorting money from cops, she shakes down other people too. Life isn't all partying. ch4&5
1. Chapter 1

Too Young to Be a Mother

by Ink Namida

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Yu Yu Hakusho, though minor characters are from my own imagination and any relationship those characters may have to real people is purely fictional. All plot events from Yu Yu Hakusho and characters belong to Funimation, Yoshihiro Togashi, and some Japanese animation studio, and as such, do not belong to me. The events taking place in this story do generally belong to me, but I am not making any money off of this, as it is merely a fanfic posted on the internet. Should said Japanese animation studio or Togashi decide to read this fanfic and have it published, then maybe I will make money, but that seems highly unlikely, and I would never get money from this without the owner/director's consent. So, don't sue. Oh, and the idea for the first chapter title comes from Tenchi Muyo, which I do not own, but I doubt that the "No Need for" is actually copyrighted, and again, I am not profiting from this, but if the owners of Tenchi Muyo complain (as if, I would actually be honored if they did because that means they have read this unworthy story), I will be willing to change the chapter title.

Chapter One: No Need for Introductions

"Hey there handsome, why don't you be a good boy and buy me a drink." The woman who slides onto the bar seat next to me was attractive, for a human. She has silky brown hair down to her nicely shaped breasts, easily visible in the tiny lacy black top she wears. She, and the thugs eyeing us, reek of trouble. The sweet, alcohol and cigarette laced scent is enough of an indication without the faint trace of demon on her. She had to be in fairly close contact with one recently, but she didn't know that or else she would have had the sense to stay far away from me. Then again, if the silly bitch was smart, she would never approach me anyways, not with the glare I'm giving her.

These thoughts flash through my head in the amount of time it takes her to blink down at me. Damn, she's an inch or two taller. I know what she's after, and getting shaken down by some stupid mob chick in a seedy bar while I wait for the Yoko to gather up some friends to get drunk with is definitely not how I want to spend my vacation.

"Quiet type, eh?" She lights up a cigarette casually and exhales the noxious smoke before addressing me again. "Look, you've got two options. Either you take me out, we get drunk, have a really good time at your place and I leave your life silently in the morning with your wallet, or you go over there, kick those guy's asses, and I end up explaining how you're too dangerous to mess with anyways."

Her thoughts explain things better, and I'm very glad I have my mild telepathic abilities. The Yakuza want her to prove her "loyalty" by seducing any mark they choose, and apparently I look like the meanest little cranky bastard in the joint.

If times had been different, if I hadn't changed over these past four years, I would have just killed them all and burnt the entire district to cinders for good measure. The candle flame on the thugs' table releases a momentary urge to do just that, but I'm stronger and am no longer ruled by such petty desires. And there's something about this human, something that entices me. Maybe it's that whiff of demon scent on her, or her offer of "forbidden" acts. Damn Mukuro!

(A/N: I'm trying to solve a little problem I encountered while first drafting this fic. Hiei started thinking in a possibly psychotic way, and I didn't like using incomplete thought processes as a plot device, but I'd still like their narrations to give a glimpse of the character. Wait, was there a plot?)

To her, there's been no delay to my reply, other than to shift my glance to the thugs for a second, and as I speak for the first time since ordering my inferior sake, a sexy little smile blooms on her face.

"How about I take option number three, beat the crap out of them, and then take you someplace a little more, private, than here?" Somehow I manage to resist the urge to tell her that if she tried to steal my money, I don't even carry a wallet, and I'd have to leave her tied up on the bed.

With a quick glance out of the corner of her eye to her boys, she winks at me before pushing off of the bar. With a yelp and the helpless flailing of her smooth, pale arms, the woman and her bar stool fall to the floor. As she starts yelling curses at me, I realize that it's my cue in this farce.

Sliding off of my stool deliberately and without the uncanny speed I normally display, I see that the Yakuza are already on their feet. Two to the left, three to the right blocking the door. Some are apprehensive for the apparently unknown cause of the woman's current state, rubbing her head from where it hit the floor. One grins and cracks his knuckles, thinking that his extra foot and a half on me will be to his advantage. Fools.

I used to hate "street-scrapping," as Yuusuke once put it, but it is an effective way to knock out a small group of humans without seriously injuring them or resorting to the jagan. I ponder this as I bring the first on the left down with a quick knee to the stomach and a follow-up kick to the head. I'm on the second before the rest can even realize what's happening. A single right hook to his chin knocks him out, leaving only the three behind me. I use a burst of my superior speed to swing a round-house kick, pulled enough that it leaves them slightly dazed but doesn't cave their skulls in. Now that I am facing them, I deliver a "strong" punch to the stomach of the punk who's still grinning even though his eyes won't focus, and then he's out too. A short jump brings me up between the heads of the remaining goons. Simultaneously, my feet connect with their heads and I land as they fall, noses bleeding and both unconscious.

"So fast, wow..." She seems breathless, as though she had held it for the whole fight. I thought I had slowed down enough for the fight to seem more normal, but maybe... "fifteen seconds. I swear I knew you had that look on you, but you sure hold a lot of surprises."

She casually bribes the bartender with a hundred dollar bill, pure American. Motioning for silence with an index finger poised over her cherry lips, she adds, "Buy a round for everyone, will ya pops?" With the thugs out, and the arm casually draped on my shoulder indicating that we are leaving, "everyone" meant three people who probably didn't care anyways. During this exchange, I have noticed that her leather wallet seems a little masculine for a babe like her, and my suspicions are confirmed a moment later as she hands the wallet to me. The smiling thug's face stares at me from the ID card inside.

I eye her suspiciously and she smiles shyly. "I picked their pockets; you don't have a wallet on you, so I'll just hand this back later, without the ID, and say I thought it was yours."

It intrigues me that I never actually saw her pick their pockets, which is no small feat with me... wait, wallet? "How did you know all I have is pocket change?" No need to let on that I have more than that.

"In those tight pants?" Again with that sexy, knowing smile. Before I can stop her, a hand slips with some difficulty into my back pocket, and she gives a small squeeze before withdrawing. "Come on handsome! You've got enough to buy me dinner now, and we can get wasted at your place afterwards." As she walks away from me, expecting me to follow her, I am left with a nice view of her ass and the sudden realization that I have just ditched a fox for a vixen. His reaction when he finds out should prove interesting.

I catch up to her, slowly for me, and make a suggestion, "There's a diner not far from here."

"Yukimura's?" My only response is a slight nod. "Can't, I know them and I don't really want the entire town to know what I've been up to." Only in hindsight would I realize how important that comment was.

Midnight finds us coiled together under the sheets of some clean hotel whose name I forgot two minutes after arriving. We did "party" a little, playing Jan Ken Pon with an alcohol bet. She became progressively drunker with each swig of sake, since she kept losing. Her pride wouldn't let her stop until she got too drunk to continue playing, after all, I'd never lose at a game like that. We cooled down for an hour watching some bizarre late-night game show. She sobered up enough for us to move the party to the uncomfortably small bed.

Now she is laying half on top of me, those sweet breasts pressed against me, as she tried to pour herself a glass of champagne. I just love the way her skin is flawless except for the oddly shaped twin scars on either side of her abdomen. She's a refreshing change from the scarred bitch who was my last lover.

"Yeh know," she pauses in this new attempt at speech, I had been stopping her with a kiss and renewed lovemaking for the last hour, but I'm too tired to do that again, so I let her continue. "I uzuelly man'ge t' get guy drunk so I nev'r achually have t' sleep with 'em, but ya gots me. Yer diff'rent."

("I usually manage to get guys drunk so I never actually have to sleep with them, but you got me. You're different." - for those who can't make sense of my pathetically slurred speech.)

"With that game?" I'm not drunk enough to slur my speech.

"Or 'nother."

"I was cheating." She giggles, a sound similar to, but not quite as pleasing as my sister's. Obviously she doesn't think it's possible to cheat at that game.

Her groan after she stops takes me by surprise, and though it's not the first of the night, I tense up and try to find the reason why she's upset so suddenly.

"I know im gonna 'gret this 'n teh mornin'." False alarm, silly thing. "'F I slep with uh guy, I make zhur they'sn't, yah know... d'fec... d'fective... an' I don' 'ven knows yer name!"

("I know I'm going to regret this in the morning." "If I sleep with a guy, I make sure they aren't, you know... defective... and I don't even know your name!")

"Hiei." I grunt, hoping she falls asleep soon so I can get the hell outta here.

"Mm Atsuko." She is quiet, but too tense to be asleep. "No pro'lems, righ'? No STD's or anythin'?"

("I'm Atsuko. No problems, right? No STD's or anything?")

"None." I know I can't catch anything she could have, so it hasn't worried me in the least. Silly ningen.

She downs her last glass of champagne and manages to set it down before she finally submits to the will of my veiled jagan eye and she falls asleep. The fact that it took five whole minutes should have been ample warning, but when I awaken some time later and leave as she still sleeps, beams of sunlight hitting her naked body, I am ignorant of its importance.

A/N: Originally I had her speak without the slurred voice, but I kinda like being able to "hear" a characters voice in the story, so I added in some slurring. However, I have never heard a real drunk person speak, so I don't think it's that good. I am open to suggestions to make that effect smoother, including just using the text in parenthesis and just saying she's not speaking very clearly. Please review, though I don't deserve it for the amount of stories I've been reading lately without reviewing myself. I am very open to constructive criticism, and if I don't address plot holes within three chapters, please start reminding me so that I can keep track of them. I am human, I forget things. Oh, and I may have problems with tense changes. Some things should be past tense, but for the most time it is in present. If I missed anything in my edit, please let me know. That's my weak point when it comes to grammar.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See first chapter for full disclaimer. I do not own Atsuko, Hiei, Kurama, Yuusuke, or any other characters from Yu Yu Hakusho, or events from that anime/manga. I'm not making any money from this, so please don't sue. Interesting fact, some manga writers got their start by making doujinshi based on other manga. It allowed them to show off their drawing and script writing skills without having to worry so much about character development, so that if somebody liked their style in the doujinshi they could get an original published.

Chapter Two: The Morning After (Pill)

Uhg. I wake up with a hangover, feeling very disoriented. Where the hell is my bed shirt? "Yuusuke! Make some coffee." No one yells back, maybe he's at school. I finally wake up and realize that I'm not even at home. "That short guy." I growl. Damn, can't even remember his name, but I remember asking. I groan again, realizing that I'll have to make a quick trip to the doc before I go home.

I still can't believe that he drank me under the table, short cutie like that, where'd he put it all? "Not in his pants, maybe that hair?" I laugh until I remember running my fingers through his black spikes, odd hairdo, and tips died white in front... maybe. "Can't remember, musta been really..." Nausea hits me and I fumble my way to the bathroom. Good, western toilets.

Then I remember about the money. "I need to get it to the boys before noon or I'll be screwed." I groan at the joke I unwittingly made. There's a wallet on the TV, Kotaru's. I dispose of the ID and check the cash. There's just barely enough. "And judging by the looks of things, he took the other four." Damn that bastard! I double check my small purse, and thank whoever's listening that nothing's missing.

After dressing quickly, I make my way to the cafe to meet the boys. A good story, something close to the truth, yeah, that'll fool 'em.

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnewscenennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Something flutters in through the window of my single-room apartment. Scratch that, it is someone, a very particular someone. "Morning Hiei. Did you have fun last night?" I open my vivid green eyes, just to glare at him. I know that I am going to be meaner than is probably call for in this situation, but considering I just fell asleep one hour and fifty six minutes ago, and it is all his fault... I don't really care about his feelings at this point. "I sure had a great night, just great." My voice drips with sarcasm, and I realize that I am being melodramatic as well.

Hiei's ruby gaze shifts down to the floor near the sink, focusing on the sleeping ice demon on my floor. His brow quirks up.

"Would you like to hear about my night Hiei? I found all three of them, eventually, but you were gone by the time I came back!"

I cannot keep the anger from my voice, and before I catch myself, I found that I've jumped out of bed and grabbed the collar of his cloak. I regain my composure, noticing as I cool off that the bastard's got a fresh set of clothes on, while I was too tired to even undress last night. I glare again before ripping off the white bandana covering Hiei's jagan. "I'll show you, my friend, what I had to put up with last night." Hiei smirked at me; the jerk actually thinks this is funny! Then the eye starts glowing green.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffflashbackfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

The four of us, Jin, Touya, Chuu and myself entered the bar, and immediately realized something.

"Whattaya know, the lil' guy dithed us, an' I think... whoo, she's a cutie there!" Side-tracked in mid-thought, Jin went off to flirt, coming back rather dejected looking. We had only just ordered drinks by then. "Hey, there were these guys o'er there on the floor, you know, an' maybe Hiei..." I stopped the wind demon with an upraised hand.

"Of course it was him, but do we really want them to know that we know who it was?" I could see the tough-guys picking themselves up off the floor. They cursed very loudly, two dragged a third out the door, presumably for medical treatment, as the remaining two questioned the bartender.

"Look, all I know's that the little runt beat the crap outta youse guys an' grabbed the very scared looking chick an' left with her. What'm I supposed to do? I ain't tough like Katsoshi, an' he's headin' fer the hospital."

I sighed heavily as Chuu and Jin began a drinking game, which seemed to involve yelling out prime numbers to which the opponent would call the double before yelling out a new prime. Of course, they just had to yell it for the entire bar to hear, and they both had to get very drunk.

"Hey, yer not a Sheila, yer a man!" That was Chuu, five minutes after the drinking game ended, hitting on a transsexual prostitute for the second time tonight.

"I told you before baby, I can be anything you want!" The cross dresser's wink was, however, aimed at me.

Two hours later, and Chuu was passed out on the floor and still managing to drool on both himself and my shoes. Jin was also asleep, but only because I had to keep him from flying around the bar with the prostitute's bra on his head; I don't want to know when or how he got it.

I was waiting for Touya to help me carry the bodies of our regrettably still alive friends out, but he was crying on the prostitute's shoulder, very drunk and complaining about his love life, or the lack thereof. The transsexual, while a very understanding, ah, person was nevertheless giving me a look that quite clearly said, "I'm getting paid by the minute, right?"

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeendflashbackeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I realize that I have just subjected Hiei to nearly an entire night of events, in about fifteen minutes. He looks dazed, but even that cheers me only slightly.

"So now you know, Hiei." he mutters something unintelligible, quite an accomplishment with my superb hearing. "What was that?"

"I said, 'I'm sorry, Kurama.'" He glances back to Touya, and I answer the question waiting on his lips.

"I gave the prostitute his wallet, and the person helped me get all three of them into a taxi. I dropped the other two off at Kuwabara's frat house, but Touya started spouting ideas of finding Yukina and trying to get her to marry him because, and I quote, 'She's the nicest ice demoness I've ever met.' So I had to knock him out and left him here."

"And the plant with the sleepy pollen next to his nose?" I am almost proud he noticed that little touch.

"So I can get some sleep without him waking." My smile is not at all nice. "So Hiei, how was she? For that matter, who was she?"

Hiei glares back at me before giving a sadistically satisfied smile. "Smooth-talker, revealing neckline and miniskirt. Needed to steal some money, so she dragged me out of that bar after bribing the bartender with money she stole from her friends after I knocked them out. I had fun. And I have most of the money. Left before she woke up."

I shake my red mane at the absurdity of the situation, "Hiei, humans aren't even your type."

"I was on top all night long."

"That is an improvement after Mukuro." I agree carefully, "But you really need to talk to her."

"I tried." Hiei had made the mistake of having a relationship with his boss. They ended it quickly, seeing the potential problems it would create, but that female was always just too much trouble. "At least I get paid vacations once a month now. Get some rest, you look like hell." And my irritating little friend leaves with a soft whoosh as air fills the vacuum created by his teleported departure. I am slightly depressed at not hearing the actual details, but the siren call of my bed and an unusually large yawn allows me to forget about that for now, and I go back to sleep ignoring the subtle snores of the ice demon nearby.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See first chapter for full disclaimer. I do not own Atsuko, Hiei, Kurama, Yuusuke, or any other characters from Yu Yu Hakusho, or events from that anime/manga. I'm not making any money from this, so please don't sue. And I don't own Pokemon, I'm just borrowing a name for my own character.

Chapter Three: Second Dates

I was knocking back some Australian brews with a few girlfriends of mine, drag queens but hey they're people too, when he entered with a tall flat-chested redhead. That little sexy bastard won't know what hit him.

Acting a lot more drunk than I really am, I sit down on his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck for full effect. I allow myself a silly looking drunken smile as I feel him tense up through my jeans. "Hiya han'some. Who's yer friend, hiccup?" I intentionally slur my speech a little, but I have no clue where that last sound came from.

"He's..." I catch the slight pause in my prey's voice, but the other does a fairly good job of covering it up. Not good enough though.

"I am Shuuichi, and you are, Miss?" He's a real charmer. The boy extends his hand for what I assume is a shake, but instead he kisses the back of mine. It almost makes me forget their slip, being treated special like that. I have learned three things from them in this short minute, they obviously know each other well, they work together by eye contact alone, and this charming redhead has more than one identity, transsexual maybe. But he's unimportant once I get my prey alone.

I cuddle up against him, he's a little sulky at my interaction with "Shuuichi", but I couldn't help that. At least he's no longer tense. Whispering in his ear seductively, I allow him to smell the alcohol on my breath before he can make his decision about joining me. "I missed ya han'some," don't think about the money he stole, "why don't we go..."

A loud crash at the entrance to the bar breaks my concentration, and my control over him. Six boys, from a small street gang I know, the oldest is barely seventeen, have been literally kicked into the bar by the yakuza who run this area.

"You little brats," yells out Rotaru, an especially nasty old fart, (he's only five years older than me!) who just happens to owe me a favor, "yer way outa yer turf, an' we don't want kids like youse on ours."

I wonder why they're so far from home, and I decide I better step in before things get too far, "Yo, Rota-san, don't put 'em in the hospital or I'll get pissed!"

The boss turns to face me, smiling grotesquely with a huge scar, age and cigarettes marring what was a handsome face ten years ago. "Atsuko? My boys'll just teach 'em a lesson." He takes a step forward, probably to have a drink with me, but six blurs, fueled by youth and fear zip past him before his goons can even strike.

The tallest screams out "Ma!" as he wraps lanky arms around me. The seventeen year old was a little slow, a combination of fetal substance abuse (as far as I know) and neglect. I feel my cushion suddenly firm up. Oops; I'm still sitting on my mark. His red eyes glare at me and the offending boy. The boy was also named after his favorite anime character, a little rat thing that may have had more intelligence than him.

"Pikachu, honey, I'm not yer mom!" I chastise him with a small bonk to the head, "Now stop hugging me!"

"But momma, they took them." This made no sense to me, but their leader, a sixteen year old, who actually managed a year of high school before dropping out, explains things better.

"The Zato gang took over a lot of our turf and said we could stay if we paid them a fee but this month we couldn't get the cash because Michio got nailed by the cops last night trying to steal the cash we still needed to pay them so they took Shoka as payment instead of our lives!" This all came out in a rush. The boy was obviously freaked out by the loss of his friend, girlfriend, and probably by the death threat too. "Atsuko, please, we came here to get your help, they'll listen to you. I... I don't know what they'll do to her."

The boy knows exactly what a bunch of sadistic pricks would do to a pretty girl, but he's too afraid and decent to say it aloud, not when talking about her. I sigh, realizing that the night is officially ruined for me, but I had promised myself that I'd look out for them like my own boy. After all, it's not exactly fair that they get treated like a real gang when the high school punks are cut a little more slack.

"Shoka's tough," I reply calmly, with no more hint of a drunken slur, "She'll be fine once I get her out. As for Michio, he'll have to take his beatings with the cops until she's safe." It's almost like I can feel the hope returning to them as each boy thanks me.

I slip off of my dark prey's lap, for which he must be very grateful; one leg must be asleep by now. But then I turn to face him, "How about it handsome, wanna be my ninja tonight?" He grunts, and I can't tell if that's good or bad. "You boys have any cash?" Paying usually helps.

They shake their heads ruefully. "That's why we were sneaking here. We couldn't pay the tolls." The little boss boy responds.

"Well, that's yer own damn fault, so take your beating and wait for me here. Come on ninja, I'll pay you on the way." Rotaru takes a seat at the bar with a martini to oversee the beating; I know it's a tough love, but they gotta learn quickly. I'm merciful compared to everyone else.

Shuuichi, or whatever his real name is, tries to follow us from the table, but I stop him with my hand. "No, too many bodyguards makes me seem like a coward, and I don't know if you can fight." However, if he's with the shortie, I bet he can. "But I would get outta here quickly, my friends over there," I point to the drag queens in back, "have been eyeing you since you walked in." I notice the faintly greenish cast to his face as I lead my ninja out the door.

After a train ride to the other side of Tokyo, I slip a couple wallets into his coat pocket. He notices, and I don't even need to say a word. Within minutes, we reach the warehouse owned by the Zato.

"Um, what was your name again?" I feel foolish, because I know I should remember that, the sneer on his face tells me so, chiding and ridiculing me for forgetting.

"Hiei." The bored tone of his voice reflects the look he just gave me.

"Got it, like the mountain." His face sours and I hold back a mocking grin. "Okay, you shouldn't need to do anything, just stay next to me, look tough, and don't speak."

"Posturing."

"Yeah, let them see the sword if they need it." He's got the idea. Maybe he's done it before. He's giving me an odd look, and I realize it's because I just mentioned the katana he's painstakingly hidden under his coat. So I wink at him and he grunts, looking away from me in disgust of my uncanny abilities.

-----------------------------------------------------

I allow Atsuko to lead me around to the back of this warehouse, where I can already sense the humans, and something else. Four men surround the girl and another man. Three more are about 2 meters away from the group. A weak demonic presence is also in the building, but I cannot pinpoint the location from outside.

She raps insistently on the back door, which one of the three further away from the girl opens. As we are escorted to the "boss" who is sitting at a desk placed to one side of a very large television set, we pass the girl kneeling on the floor in front of a guy with his pants down. Judging by the ring of watchers, he's the first to try to take advantage of her. I, however, don't care and continue to look forward, searching for the demon.

I find it standing over the shoulder of the bald fat human sitting at the desk, just as weak as I thought. It pales at the sight of me.

"Why are you here, Atsuko." The boss asks in a reedy voice, glancing at me.

"What would Bass Yamatsu say if he knew you'd taken over the territory he gave up for that girl's gang?" She doesn't let him answer, but sits on his desk with her legs crossed, a pondering look falsely planted on her face. She taps a finger against her chin, "Come to think of it, what would he say if he knew you'd kidnapped his great-niece for a sex toy?"

I have no clue what she's up to, but he calls her bluff. "Absolutely nothing. You'd have more to gain by telling him, if that was true. You can't get much by simply blackmailing me."

"Boss..." The demon tries to get the human's attention. I have been slowly but deliberately switching my gaze from him to Atsuko and back throughout this whole exchange.

"Shut up." The fool ignores him. "This is a dangerous move, you bitch. Quite a few of us would be happy to off you, and now you start interferin' in things that don't concern you..."

"Are you threatening me?" Atsuko calmly lights a cigarette. "My bodyguard won't like that."

I smirk at the yakuza boss, hand resting on my katana hilt. A quick glance at the weak demon makes him pale further, "Boss, I really..."

"Shaddup!" The human glares back at me before returning his suddenly lecherous gaze to Atsuko's cleavage. "He's short and prob'ly weak. I'll order my boys to off him, and then we can see just how good you are with that tongue, see if the rumors are true."

Atsuko starts to say, "First a death threat and now you want head." but this is drowned out by the unlucky demon's screeching.

"HE'LL KILL US ALLLLLLLLL!"

The boss glares at his ally, and quickly seeing the terror on the demon's face, turns a disgruntled face my way. I give him an evil smirk.

Still screeching, the demon adds, "He's the one I told you about, from the Dark Tournament, we don't stand a chance!"

At the words "Dark Tournament" the boss blanches and stares at the confident Atsuko, partially in awe. "N-name yer terms." He stutters.

"Give us the girl, and give back the turf you took from her gang." She smirks and gives me a wink, "But as long as I've caught you in such an understanding mood..." I stop listening as she reads off a wish list of things the boss can do or get for her.

Fifteen minutes later, we are preparing to leave with the girl and some extra cash at our sides. Some of the thugs missed our earlier conversation (or just don't know about the deadly tournament), and seem upset at their boss's decision. I turn to show Atsuko that I was mildly impressed by her negotiation skills, but I stop when I hear the girlish scream.

Behind me I find a bizarre sight. The once pants-less gang member is now crotch-less and bleeding profusely. The 16 year old girl stands wielding someone's switchblade and her victim's dismembered... I don't want to think about that part. "Never come near me again, or else." She warns all of the men, not just the one who is quickly passing out. She drops everything and proceeds to follow a smiling Atsuko out the door.

As we wait for the train back to the bar, Atsuko starts questioning me about the Dark Tournament. "I mean, I know of it, because some of the richer businessmen that regularly deal with mafia like betting on it, and like to talk about how they've actually attended a match, well the over 65 crowd does. Apparently none of the rich guys survived watching the tournament a few years back. But all anyone will say is how prestigious and dangerous it is."

"That's because in the Dark Tournament, you are encouraged to kill your opponent; it is considered a great disappointment if both fighters survive a battle. Killing the audience is only frowned upon if it's deliberate. It is also highly selective in who can fight."

Atsuko is silent for a while, pondering this, "So you and your red haired friend were in this thing together?"

"Same team, yes." I am slightly surprised that she figured this much out, Kurama doesn't look like much of a fighter at first glance, but then this woman is full of surprises.

"Well, this date's shot," She announces as the train arrives and she stands, "guess I'll just have to make it up to you next time, Hiei."

"Next month." She gives me a questioning glance. "I'll be gone for a while. Business. I'll find you when I get back." My decision shocks me, as I don't know why I would want another date with this vixen, but I do. Even though this date was boring as hell I still want to see her again. I can figure this out later, I tell myself as I leave them, confident that that woman can make it back to the bar just fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Truth Revealed Part One

A/N: I'm not dead! I've just been very very busy and uninspired. I'm working on two new stories, but I won't post them until they're more complete so I can focus on this for a while hopefully. Summer is busy, and the next school year will be hell even compared to this one, which was just plain FULL. I'm also stopping work on my Harry Potter crossover because I just reread it and the chapters are so uncohesive since I wrote them MONTHS apart. This is flowing better, so I'll just keep adding chapters, but the other one needs to be finished and then completely rewritten. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this and anything else I can finish this summer! And for those who don't already know this, I'm borrowing some info from the manga, but it follows the anime's plot more, since Atsuko would remember Hiei from the tournament if this followed the manga, unless she was that drunk and Hiei and Kurama were that unobservant, which I doubt.

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For the life of me, I cannot understand what I am doing here. I pretend to glare at the woman sitting across from me, but I can't bring myself to mean it, and she knows it. She smiles coyly in response and runs the tip of her finger around the lip of her wine glass. We're at a fancy Chinese restaurant, far from her normal haunts. She claims to be buying me dinner as a treat for actually coming back

She looks much less scandalous than normal with nylons under her satin red dress. An eyeful of cleavage still shows, but it has a decent cut and the skirt flows loosely to knee length. And her shoes were apparently easily removable heels, since she is sliding one toe gently up my pant leg. I should have worn the boots. I don't normally eat human food; I'm not normally found in public, but for her I make an exception. Why?

Atsuko's soft touch distracts me from my thoughts and for a moment all I can see is her painted lips on the glass, all I can smell is her light perfume that should have given me a headache large enough to destroy Tokyo and yet somehow doesn't because she uses so little, and the faint trace of that cursed demon. What is it about this ningen that distracts me? And why did I just wish she smelled more like me? For the last month I've waited for the chance to see her again, wondered what she'd do next, wondered if she'd survived the month, and how the hell she survived her life. Atsuko asks me if I want anymore wine and then pours me another glass, she's almost finished off the whole bottle on her own. She fun when she's drunk though, completely malleable and willing to do whatever I put into her pretty head, and so giggly. I know I'm going to tire of that soon, that if that was the only thing I wanted from her I wouldn't be back. So why?

I recall our second meeting, how she pretended to be drunk, and then her savvy nature came out in dealing with the yakuza punks. She knows how to use people; she's more cunning than she lets on. I wonder what could have happened that night, if I had fallen even a little for that trap. Perhaps Enki's Law would have ended that night with her death, or maybe we'd just never see each other again. Sometimes, she reminds me of that bitch, but only when her mind is sober, and she has a smooth confidence that Mukuro lacks even with all her power.

I stop a sigh that was beginning to form. This is too much; I must end it.

(Everyone: NO! You can't! Yuusuke has to find out you shagged his mom first!)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Hiei-chan's so cute when he's slightly dazed. I'd never say that aloud, after all, I'm not drunk yet, and I doubt he'd like the name or the adjective. My foot's been worming its way up and he's obviously distracted. I've been my almond chicken between sips of wine, and he's barely touched his pork since I started playing with him. I wonder what he's thinking about. He did come back, so he's hopefully thinking about me. It better not be about my body odor; I can't believe I forgot to put on anything after that shower.

I prepare a bite and touch it to my lips just as the asshole closes his eyes in mild concentration, and he misses the supposedly enticing sight of me wrapping my lips around food. I doubt that actually drives men wild anyways, but the least he could have done was NOT start daydreaming with his eyes closed. He opens them again only to find me glaring at him. He has the most adorable expression of puzzlement.

"What?" Hiei-chan asks roughly. I can't even pretend to stay mad at him.

I lie quickly, "Nothing. I just can't help but wonder why you aren't eating much." He snorts but lets it drop. Like I'd actually admit I was slightly pissed that he wasn't more affected by my charms. I can't believe the night's going so well. Previously when we'd been in public, his expressions were so guarded that he wouldn't let anything pass through his mask unless he wanted it to. He could smile at the misfortune of others, scowl menacingly or use any other "tough" expressions, but the only time he hasn't was when we were in bed or he thought me too drunk to remember. I remember the content smile he had when I held him that night, and the looks he's been openly sharing with me are equally unguarded.

I can't believe that I've actually enjoyed this. Usually the jerks I date turn on me after the first date, no matter how nice they act. Only Yuusuke's father had lasted this long, a whole five dates before he dumped me and left with only a scrawled note breaking it off, turns out he didn't want to be caught with a kid like me in his bed when he got a promotion.

Great, now I'm the one spacing off. We haven't really even talked since the food came. But the silence hasn't been uncomfortable. We've been sneaking glances, stealing food off each other's plates, and covertly flirting. I only wish this could last. Nice guys like this always turn out to either not be nice, or to be too good for a naughty mob girl like me. Considering the fact that he fought in a tournament, and was so used to being a hired sword, it would probably be too dangerous to stay in a relationship with him for too long, or he'd try to pull something.

I take a deep gulp of the wine, and force these negative thoughts from my head. Tonight isn't about being betrayed or dumped again; it is about having some fun and not giving a rip about the consequences for a while.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

As I pay for a night's stay in a not too cheap love motel, my thoughts return to Atsuko, who's clutching my arm and giggling softly as she rubs her cheek against my hair. I shouldn't have taken her to that bar for dessert. She's giggling more than the ferry girl now. As we walk up the stair to our room, I almost wish I had read her mind back in that restaurant. She was thinking heavily on something. Perhaps she'll dump me before I even have to say anything about it. The thought makes my stomach twist. I don't take rejection lightly. It had been painful enough when Mukuro found a new lover, and I hate the thought of losing someone I actually care about. Except that's going to happen anyways. At least I'll be the one doing the leaving this time. Dammit, if only she wasn't human. As though that mattered, as though I'd still allow myself to see her if she wasn't. Love is just something that doesn't happen for us. Love? Where'd that thought come from? I don't love anyone. I have no need for that emotion, which is why I can't see Atsuko again after tonight.

"Hiei-san?" She whispers loudly before pressing her lips against mine clumsily. We're already in our room, I barely notice before deepening the kiss. Her actions become less clumsy as she stops thinking about how to initiate a kiss, and I realize just how dangerous this woman is. The fact that I'd been unaware of my surroundings for more than a second meant I had to get away from her. Her tongue attempts to wipe coherent thought from my mind as it begs me to remember what else it can do, and I force myself to push her away.

She lands on the bed, her dress hiking up her thigh a little as she sprawls out. "Some one's im-pa-tient." Atsuko forces out cheerfully, making sure to think on the syllables instead of slurring it out lazily.

"Atsuko, we have to talk." Again I wish she was sober for this, but I plan on leaving early in the morning, and I can't just leave her a pathetic note. I can't make myself be that cruel.

"Kuso," she slurs the s sound for a second, "why did I know this was coming?" She rolls over and buries her face in pillow. I can hear her muffled sobs.

"Dammit, I haven't even said anything yet."

"You don' 'ave to. 'very one knowss wha' tha' means." She yells thinking it'll help me hear her through the pillow.

(Translation from drunkspeak: You don't have to. Everyone knows what that means.)

I sigh, this is already going badly. I hate it when a woman cries; it reminds me how much of a hateful jerk I am. "Could I explain before you condemn me? I promise you can curse me out later."

She's quiet, and I can only assume that's my cue to try and let her go gently. I wish I had the fox feeding me lines right about now. What do I say? This sounded so much easier in my head. "The problem is that... you're human."

"What?" She bolts up and looks at me like I'm insane. It might be best if she assumes that's the real reason I'm dumping her. "You aren't into furries are you? Some weird animal fetish?"

"Furries?" I have no clue what she's talking about, so I shake my head and continue. "No, it's not like that. The thing is... I'm not."

In her alcohol hazed mind, she can't understand the clear implication, or maybe my own intoxication is preventing me from getting my point across, or the fear.

"Not what?" I sigh again and sit on the edge of the bed, not facing her.

"I'm not human." On second thought, I SHOULD face her, just incase she tries to kill me. I am suddenly kneeling on the bed so I can keep an eye on her. She blinks a couple of times and it still doesn't register. She probably thinks she blacked out or something.

"If you ain't human, then wha' ARE you?" Ah, now she's afraid of me, and scooting off the bed to put some distance between us.

"A demon." Recognition flashes in her eyes for a moment.

"You don' have horns. Kagano's pet had horns. And it had dead fish smell. You smell like a guy, not dead anything." So she HAD met a few demons. The one whose scent even now still lingered on her certainly did not smell like dead fish, though it was oddly familiar, so she probably knew more.

"Not all demons have horns. And I know how to bathe when I need to." I explain.

"Prove it." She nods and adds, "An' esplain why you could date me in the firs' place KNOWING I was human."

(Translation: esplainexplain, I'm sure most of you could figure that out, but just incase... also, assume that if there's a typo etc. for when she's drunk, it's because it's supposed to be there)

I wish she'd shut up and run away already. I wish she'd realize what I meant, that I'm a demon, and she shouldn't even be near me. But I'm soft for her, so I just take off my bandanna, and reveal to her my third eye. And Atsuko stares at it a little, and crawls onto the bed towards me for a closer look. I'm shocked enough to jerk only a little when she grabs my chin and looks straight into the Jagan. Even with my efforts to shield her from its inherent effects, she should be dazed just by looking into it like that, but after a moment she snorts gruffly and sits on the bed. She has to be the weirdest human I ever met, aside from my allies.

"Tha' don' mean nothin'." She snorts again for good measure and laughs a little. "I knows a guy who could do that sorta thing. Like's 'sperimenting on people and animals and makin' monsters."

(Translation: That doesn't mean anything. I know a guy who can do that sort of thing. He likes experimenting on people and animals and making monsters.)

And Atsuko's still drunk. I doubt she'll remember any of this in the morning, so I fake calmness as I wrap the white cloth back around my head. "Atsuko. Listen. I was not born in this world. And I was willing to date you as long as it wasn't serious but now..." I can't even admit that to her. I can yell to the entire Ningenkai that I'm a demon, but I can't admit the truth. I want more from her than a one night stand.

"So what?" She almost seems pissed at my stubbornness.

"It means that I'm practically immortal. It means that the time it takes a human to die seems like only a few years to me. The effort put into caring about somebody doesn't matter if they only exist for the blink of an eye." I try not to shout. I thought she'd realize my point by now, but she's still intoxicated... I finally realize what I'm afraid of, and she's too drunk to appreciate my fears. If I admit my true feelings, then I'm condemning myself to being torn out from the inside, which would only turn those feelings to remorse and hatred of her anyways.

She rolls over to face away from me, and for a moment I fear I was harsh enough to make her cry, but wasn't that the point? Let her hate me if it helps. Wait, Atsuko is... laughing?

"Hiei-chan?" She giggles, "How old do I look?"

Chan? If she ever calls me that in public I'm killing people. As for her age, I don't know it, and I'm not low enough to read her mind for it. "23?" She looks barely older than Kurama, so that sounds about right. I bet she'll be angry if I guessed too high by even a year.

She makes a harsh, odd buzzing sound, "Wrong answer; try again." She must have lost her point.

"21?" She giggles.

"Try 34 nex' June."

"And here I was under the impression that alcohol and cigarettes aged ningens." She must be lying. My glare demands the truth from her.

"And I got a kid. You should meet him sometimes. I even got the stretch marks to prove it." She somehow manages to lift her dress up past her waist to show those faint scars on her sides. I do a quick scan of her mind and realize she's being completely honest.

"How?"

"Like I said, I knows a guy, a signtist guy. Boss had me flirt wit' him ta get his secret... thing." She struggles to find the right words. "He was tryin' to find a way to live for'ver and the yakuza want it. They sent me in, and he let me have a test-er thingy. An' then there was a fire, and everybody was really mad 'cause he never got to finish it, but that boss got replaced an' now nobody remembers 'cept me!"

(Translation: Like I said, I know a guy, a scientist. The boss had me flirt with him to get his secret... thing. He was trying to find a way to live forever.)

As she finishes she curls up against a pillow happily, waiting for me to respond. Her story didn't make much sense, and with the way her clothes were still bunched up and her legs were distracting me, I had to take a peek while that memory was still fresh in her mind. I open the Jagan and scan her mind. It's a much more inviting place than I thought it would be after I revealed what I was. I saw the messy lab with caged animals and heard the scientist's explanation of his new serum, and the warning that it was only in its test stages.

"It won't let you live forever, my dear." The older man was practically speaking into Atsuko's ample young bosom, "But it will slow down the aging process significantly. I've never had a human I could test it on."

"Does it really work?" Atsuko was holding a small yellow downy animal that I can't readily recognize. "All this science is really turning me on. I'll let you try it on me, if it works."

"That baby chicken you're holding. It is two years old. I haven't seen any ill side-effects yet in it."

I shut the eye and looked at the woman warily. No, the scent wasn't hers. I doubt he used youkai DNA or she would have been altered much more than that. And that scent is definitely masculine. Note to self: Kill whoever makes her smell like that. And she's still waiting for me to respond.

"So, you think you'll last longer than the blink of an eye?" I ask carefully.

"I'm only a year older since then, and it's been abou' ten years." She smiles and I allow her to wrap her arms around my neck so she can pull me close to her. "I can try." My arms rest on her exposed thighs. I guess I can't help it if my mind betrays me. At least, I'll have a chance with her.

By morning I realize that I do have strong feelings for her. The most dangerous part about them is that I can't tear myself away from her permanently. My only salvation is the thought that she's hopefully as fickle as Mukuro, and she'll tire of me before I can fall too deeply. But I really don't want that to happen. This is worse than the situation with Yukina. I am so screwed. I wake her up before leaving with a kiss. She whispers something about spending the whole day in bed with me, but if I miss my meeting with the fox, I'll become plant food and won't be able to see her during next month's weekend off. Note to self: Also get Mukuro to extend my vacation time. Or tell her to piss off. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Intermission

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The parks in Japan are always lovely this time of year. I've always enjoyed walking through them when the trees are covered in cherry blossoms. Of course, it is always hard to enjoy the scenery when one must prevent one's friend from tripping over something or walking into a tree. Hiei and I had had lunch at the Yukimura's restaurant.

Yuusuke and Keiko both work there now and while Keiko's father is more than willing to pass the family business on to his future son in law, Yuusuke just wants some practice for when he opens his own ramen stand. The biggest current attraction happens to be the daily fights between the young couple, which tend to be quite loud, funny, and occasionally involve the mazuko being thrown out to buy supplies to let the head waitress calm down. Which is exactly what Yuusuke happened to be doing when we went, so Hiei didn't even get a chance to see Yuusuke this month, not that they'd met up since Hiei was allowed vacation time, but I'm sure they'll speak again soon.

I'm fairly certain Hiei doesn't really want to talk with anyone right now. He barely ate and he hasn't said a full word since ordering. And he just walked into another bench. Ouch. I wonder if something happened to his sister, that's about the only thing that could distract him this much. I know there's something on his mind, but I don't want to pry or he'll just flit away and I won't get any answers until next month.

I give him a hand, which he refuses and instead his stands up enough to move to the bench and sit down. He stares at the pond across from us, though I know he isn't actually looking at it. Smoothing my khaki pant legs quickly, I sit down beside my best friend.

I wait three minutes, and then I ask, "Hiei, isn't the weather just awful?"

"Hai..." The fire demon acts like he's in a trance, though there is no other aura but our own around.

"All these clouds are a nuisance, aren't they?" The sun's reflection on the lake should be casting quite the glare at him.

"Hai..."

"Hiei, we should probably go before we get soaked from all this rain."

"Hai..." He almost stands up, "Wha? What rain?"

"You haven't been paying any attention to a word I say, have you?"

He growls and settles himself back down. "Don't' be stupid fox. I'm just busy thinking."

"About?"

He avoids my eyes and refuses to answer directly before asking me, "What is l-lo-love like?" He stutters over one of the least used words in a demons vocabulary.

Oh boy. Now how do I answer that? And what KIND of love does he mean? "It's special?" All I can think of is the way Mother makes me feel, and somehow I don't think that's what he meant. "You'd care so deeply for somebody that your own life ceases to matter if that person is hurt or even just unhappy. But when they are happy, everything seems so right, like nothing could ever go wrong." I'm just making this up; it sounds like what real love should be like, but I've never really experienced it myself. Sure Mother could brighten my day with a smile, but it hurts to remember how much she had to give up for me, the pain she went through because of me. The pain I know she'll feel if she ever found out what I was.

Of course, now I'm really curious as to why he asked me about that. "So, why did you ask?"

He's quiet, but I get the feeling Hiei's finally in a talkative mood today. "Do you remember that woman from the bar last month?"

"The transvestite, who was in fact NOT a woman, or the one that dragged you out?" I shudder, very glad that I had left almost immediately. That person was far too gaudy and not nearly pretty enough to attract my attention. Most humans just aren't my type, though the girl Hiei found might have come close.

"Atsuko." I can swear I heard that name before, but I'm not too good with names since I know so many. Wait, didn't I date an Atsuko about two hundred years ago? Or was that Atsuki? No, Atsuki was the sister of somebody I stole a treasure chest from, so that wasn't exactly a date so much as luck.

"She's special, Kurama." I stop wondering where I remember the name from and pay attention to my friend. "She's pretty and smart when she wants to be, and she knows how to get what she wants." The next part is so quiet that I wouldn't hear it if not for my superb demonic senses, "I really like her."

So Hiei's fallen for the normally fairer sex. And she's a human no less.

"What will you do?"

"I don't want her to fall for someone else while I'm gone." Hiei's aura spikes at his own jealous thoughts, and some how I doubt that will happen if he really is in love with her. "How do you make them like you." It doesn't sound like a question at all. I think for a moment before answering.

"Have you ever brought her a present?"

"I won't be here, baka."

"Ever heard of a delivery service? Pick a present, have them send it for you."

He glares at me as he responds, "I'm not stupid enough to tell anyone in Makai about this."

"Look, all women like flowers, unless they're allergic. Write a few notes for her, and I'll put a few bouquets together and deliver them for you." I can't believe I just offered to help. And I can't believe he just brightened up with the thought. Hiei should NEVER have that weird hopeful expression on his face, it looks too creepy. Like Mukuro just gave him permission to burn down Gandara.

"Could you? I'd pay you back for any costs. And your flowers are the best." Kami-sama, not my flower garden. "She'd have to fall in love with me if we use your flowers." And he can read my mind and blame me if I don't use mine and she doesn't like him back. Interesting, he didn't stutter that time.

"Fine. But only two bouquets and I get to pick the flowers myself."

"Deal." He seems a lot less preoccupied now.

On the way back to my apartment, I show him a little card shop so he can send her something nice. Three hours later, he's finally picked out two, scared away a few dozen customers, and officially got me banned from the area. He spent ten whole minutes looking at two nearly identical cards, wondering which card was her favorite color, blue or pink, before an employee asked who was expecting a baby. Then he complained about how sappy all the "missing you" or "love you" cards were, until I finally found him some blank cards with pictures of oil paintings of romantic landscapes and a few funny animal ones. I warned him about picking too similar of cards, so after two hours of examining those, he managed to pick out a Tokyo at Night scene and one with kittens dressed as American gangsters. I hope I can send the Tokyo one first; otherwise he's going to be in for a nasty surprise when he sees her again.

When we finally get back to my apartment, he asks the unthinkable. "Can you write them for me?"

"Hiei, if I write a woman a love letter, I'll woo her for myself." I didn't mean to make it sound that threatening, but apparently it was, since his right arm is now smoldering with black energy. So I add with an attempt at a light hearted tone, "That's why YOU'LL be writing them."

He's silent.

"I know you're literate Hiei. You can do it on your own."

"But I don't know WHAT to write." He mutters.

"Then keep it simple. 'I love you's, 'I miss you's, 'let's have a drink', 'save a date for me'. Anything works Hiei."

He spends the next four hours working on the cards. I give him some suggestions on word choice, but other than that I refuse to help. I just can't believe the little jerk actually fell in love with anyone, let alone a human. It starts bugging me. There are so many things that should be going wrong with this relationship.

"Hiei. She doesn't know, right?" How can you miss the fact that your partner always wears the same bandages from month to month? She must suspect something.

"I told her last night." I wonder if he knows what I meant.

"I mean, she doesn't know about demons."

Hiei shakes his head lightly, a half smile on his lips. "I told her pretty much everything. She didn't believe me, even after I showed her the eye. Then she said it didn't matter. She's not like other humans, Kurama. She even wants me to meet her son, knowing what I am."

He suddenly finds something else to write and falls silent with a look of intense concentration on his face. I'm left wondering again. Atsuko is a mother. Atsuko. Mother. I don't remember getting anyone named Atsuko pregnant in my past life, or dating anyone who had kids for that matter. And I remember that my demonic mother's name began with... Ru, I think. I don't know why it seems important, or familiar, but there's something odd about this girl Hiei's dating. She looks much too young to be a mother for one thing. He'd have to be, maybe a year or two old. But she hung out with a rough crowd, so he could be as old as 6 perhaps. I can't imagine Hiei helping to raise a kid of any age.

"I'm done."

"Already." I snort sarcastically. The cards are already sealed tight, so there's no chance of snooping. Darn.

Hiei flits to the window ready to leave without even telling me the one thing I need to know to pull this off. "Hiei, matte!" He pauses at my yell. "Where do I deliver these to?"

He thinks for a moment before answering. "I don't know her house, but she's a regular at the bar we met at. Just give them to the bartender, he's fairly trustworthy." And then he's gone, already running back to Makai without even a goodbye. That's the most Hiei-like thing he's done all day. Now which of the flowers in my garden at Mother's house am I going to sacrifice for this. I guess I can spare a few roses, but Mother likes the lilies too much, and the daffodils and tulips line the path and the irises are right next to the fence. The jasmines in the back need thinned anyways, and I could always get rid of a few of those cursed over breeding daisies. I'll remind Hiei to pay me for the damages next month.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Oh man, it's been a long day. My feet and stomach ache. My hand hurts from when I punched a punk, and I had to bail a few friends out of the slammer for prostitution. I swear, God just has it in for me some days. No, that's not right. I'm just a little down is all. I let my girlfriends drag me into the bar, my regular haunt. We take a booth in the back and wait for Pachiko, the grumpy waitress to come take our orders. I could really use a few beers right now.

A half drunken gang member stumbles to our table and collapses into the seat next to me. I shake off an arm he attempts to put on my shoulders. "Yo, Atsuko, baaaabiiii, it's been a while. How'sa 'bout a smooch? Buy me a beer an' I'll take you upstairs for a little fun... okay?"

(Yay, more drunk speech! Translation: Baaaaaabiiiiii a really long "baby")

I let him smooch my fist as I help him fall to the floor. "I thought you couldn't get it up anymore Bakura? Besides, I'm not interested. Take the hint and leave me the hell alone."

His lip is split and he looks a little frightened when he glances up at me. Well, I am on my period, so this isn't the best time to piss me off even accidentally, and I miss... The waitress glowers at me as she goes to get a mop to clean up the blood. Bakura runs out the door, nearly slamming into the bartender on the way out. I wonder why he's coming over here anyways. And with flowers. Flowers?

"Atsuko." Flowers? For me? "A pretty redhead came by earlier today saying these were a present for you from a friend of hers." What idiot would send me flowers? Everyone knows I only accept jewelry and cash.

I take the flowers from him anyways and set them on the table. The fragrance from them is amazing; I thought all florists made it so they wouldn't smell as strong. The bartender takes our orders and leaves as I'm still stuck staring at the card, hoping the handwriting will give me a clue. Neat penmanship of my name. Nothing else. I don't recognize it at all. The roses are astonishingly beautiful, and the shade matches... Hiei's blood-red eyes. There are a few daisies, and I hate daisies, but these look nice forming a nice white on red contrast with the roses. A lone purple flower, a simple bud, rests in the center of the bouquet.

One of my friend's complains about her allergies and goes to the restroom to take a pill. I take this as a cue to see what prick would send me these. I open the envelope, and there's a card with a painting of the Tokyo skyline on it, and inside is a freaking long letter. It covers both sides of the card and it ain't large print either.

I scan the columns of text; the Kanji is neatly done and very simple. Except for where entire sentences are crossed out. These sections look a mess, there's even a smear.

"Atsuko" I'm not reading this aloud, and I have to elbow one of my friends to keep her from reading it, "Crossed out area. I just didn't want you to forget about me while I'm gone. I work in the other world, and I only get a weekend off every month. I'm going to ask my boss for more time next month. I... crossed out... would like to spend that time with you, and your child. I've never felt this way before. Crossed out. I'm not supposed to, but you are different from every one I've met. That makes it alright. I want to know more about you, and I want you to know more about me. Do you remember what we talked about that last night? You're always so drunk that... large crossed out... it's hard to know what you remember. I have a lot of fun with you though. I can relax with you. Crossed out area again. I... crossed out, smudge... love you. -Hiei."

"Woah, a rambler. Who sent it Atsuko?" Chrissie Anna-Marie asks after getting only a quick peak.

I'm bright pink by now. I can't believe that little... cute... demon sent me flowers. Or that the bartender confused his redheaded friend for a girl, though with my company, it's hard to tell what's male and what's female. Hiei never said much, unless he had something to say. It must have been hard to write, considering it took him four or five tries to say a simple "I love you."

It hits me. He's in love. With me. Shimatta! I barely know the guy. But I know he's the real reason for my crankiness today. I miss him. I like him. And if he's leading me on, I'll have someone rip his guts out.

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Two weeks pass, and the flowers have yet to wilt, and the purple flower blossomed fully. I keep them on my kitchen table, and can't help but smell them every time I grab a beer. Flowers aren't supposed to last this long. It makes them special, because I'm not supposed to either. Maybe it's a good omen, or maybe Kami-sama or God or whatever is just waiting to pull a big trick on me. Yup, that's more likely. I know what a demon is, and there's no possible way he could love me. Yup, good old denial. I think I'll grab another beer. No, that means I'd smell them again. Who knows who did what with those flowers. Probably got a spell or something on them. I must always be wary! I think I'll go to the bar instead. Yeah, no flowers there.

When I make it to the bar alone that night, I'm proven wrong. I make the mistake of sitting at the bar so I can't even run away, and the scent of them traps me there. It should be illegal for flowers to smell that good. If they only made a perfume like that...

"Hey Atsuko, who's the lover boy?" The waitress asks as she passes us while the bartender hands me my flowers.

I debate what to tell her, but my tongue is already loosened by the three beers I had at home. "Just the short cute guy from a few months ago. The one that kicked Kotaru's ass in under 15 seconds." I smile at the memory.

"The shrimp? Wow. He looks younger than your boy."

"Heh, but he's a lot more mature than Yuusuke. I'm sure they'd get along just fine. He was in some martial arts thing, and Yuusuke loves fighting." I inform her.

"Good luck." She turns away from me and gets back to work, letting me read the second letter. The card is a goofy picture of mobster kittens. I giggle just looking at it, and I realize that it's a pretty good reminder of how we met. I'm surprised Hiei would pick something nearly as kawaii as himself out.

It's surprisingly blank, and a lot cleaner looking than the last. It simply reads, "Atsuko. I do love you. I can't think of anything else to say. I wish I knew what you remembered so I'd know more to say, but you always get so drunk." The word drunk is only slightly crossed out, but I can still read it. "It's my fault. Sorry. I pick the worst times to speak. And I encourage you." I'm sure he meant "to drink" there. "I have a sister. She doesn't know she is my sister yet. Maybe you'll give me the courage to tell her. I thought you should know that. You'd like her a lot. She's very nice, but naive. I come back on the 23rd. I hope you read this while sober. -Love, Hiei."

Well, he's getting bolder with the L word, and accusing me of being drunk all the time. I'm not that bad. I DO remember most of what he's told me. There was a third eye, right? Or was that part of a weird dream? At least I have proof that he said he was from another world. I remember him saying that and it's in his first card too. So I forgot his name the first time, oh well. I won't forget my Hiei-chan's name now. And he does love me. I'm a little afraid, but maybe it won't turn out like with Yuusuke's dad. Maybe he'll stay.

I wonder what his sister would look like for a moment. Probably has long black hair, maybe some spikier white bangs. She'd definitely have his eyes. And the smile he has when he's sleeping.

I decide to try and send him a note. There's a pen and a losing lottery ticket in my purse, so I scrawl a quick note telling Hiei my address and inviting him to dinner on the 24th. Inviting him to meet my small family. I barely avoid writing, "Love Atsuko" at the bottom, and just leave a few hearts and XOXO next to my name. I'm acting on impulse, but Hiei's friend's been in here before, so maybe the bartender will see him again.

"Yo, barkeep!" I get his attention by waving around the bouquet like a crazy woman.

"Yeah?"

"Can you give this to the redhead if you see them?" Just in case it really WAS a girl.

"She comes in with a couple weirdoes every so often. I'll try."

"Arigatoooooo." I'm in a surprisingly cheerful mood, but then, I'm not the sixth drink of my night. I quickly write down that I offered dinner at my place on the 24th, so I won't forget. I wouldn't want to give him a reason to be angry with me. I'll ask Yuusuke if I drink too much tomorrow. Yeah. He'll be honest. Can't ask Keiko-chan 'cause she thinks one drink makes you drunk. I can't believe flowers make me this happy. Not even diamonds have had this affect. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Sobriety

A/N: I know it's been almost a year, but seriously, I've been busy. I had a full time summer job, and it's my senior year at college, and I've had research cruise after paper after research cruise. It's going to get even worse this quarter, but I have some time, so I'll try to pump this out, and then maybe I can write more this summer after I graduate. I'm also a full time wife now, so it's even harder. He keeps getting hungry and tired, and he's just like a big (cute) baby sometimes. I also could have sworn I started this chapter already, but it's disappeared now.

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I've been sitting in my mother's "dining room" for the last five minutes watching Atsuko apprehensively. The dining room itself is merely a traditionally low Japanese table adorned with a pretty white vase from which copious amounts of some really nice flowers I'd rather not know the names to seem to sprout and flourish. Flourish, is that even a word? I wondered if those were the same flowers from last week, but then my mother gently pushes me over so that she can quickly vacuum up the invisible dust from the yellow pillow I was on.

I share a nervous glance with my future wife, Keiko, as she busies herself with setting the table. I don't know what's more eerie, Mom's sudden turn for sobriety, or her equally sudden announcement that she's in love. With a guy she met in a bar. Only now she's been sober for the last week, like that'll last. Her words echo in my mind, "Yuusuke-chan, you'll like him, he's a martial artist!" Atsuko left to check on the bathroom one more time, so I turned to Keiko, "Hey, you think I could get this flake to pee his pants and run away just by glaring at him?"

I just earned a reproachful look. She's really happy about Atsuko cleaning up her act. Keiko had been organizing the cleaning of the whole apartment, and even taught Mom how to cook dinner.

"Honestly Yuusuke, you can't say something bad about the guy without meeting him first. Look at how happy your mom is." Keiko starts another lecture.

"Oh sure, she's happy. She's more anxious than... than... Koenma during the Tournament... with HEMORRHOIDS." And she glares at me. Except, she's kinda cute when she does that... I should pinch her butt in a minute and maybe she'll slap me. That would be a lot funner than waiting for this loser to show up.

"Yuusuke..." Ah, that threatening tone of hers is so scary it's cute.

"Her last boyfriends were scary Keiko, why should I expect anything different from this one. I remember when I was 6 and one of them tried to burn me with a cigarette 'cause I was crying from running into the table. They're goons. This one's probably just some Yakuza thug that's using her for something." She looks about to interrupt me, "And don't go saying that she probably wasn't actually happy with them, 'cause she was either too drunk or too stoned to notice much... other than to kick the guy with the cigarette out the door."

And my mom's back in the room now. I hope she didn't hear any of that, nope, still wearing that dopey expression of hers. Yuck. If that's love I'd much rather live in a world where I get slapped every minute by Keiko. With her book bag. Ouch.

She glances at me briefly and sobers up. "Now Yuusuke, try not to scare the guy. I told him I have a kid and all, but... well... I don't think he realizes how old you are... you know? I just don't want to scare him away. He wanted to meet you, but... dammit, if he's going to leave just like your father did, I swear I'll feed him his own..." There's a hesitant knock on the door which cuts her more Atsuko-like tirade short.

Uh, oh. This is bad timing. I sensed Hiei's aura approach the apartment quickly while she spoke. My mom starts to get up to answer the door; I'd better do something.

"Hey Mom, I'll get it. Just to show what a good sport I am. If he gets nervous, I'm your younger brother, got it?" Yeah, right. I think he'd believe I'm the in-house lover first. As I walk to the door, I feel a little worried about why Hiei would come here to talk to me. I hope it's nothing bad. I'd hate to leave my mom alone with some kook.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

"Holy Kami-sama, Meikai cursed piece of..." I mutter expletive after expletive under my breath. How did Kurama miss this? How the HELL did I miss this? I'm not so good at ningen street addresses, but surely Kurama would have recognized this address! When I was running here, I thought it was odd that the mazuko would live in the same vicinity as her, and the same apartment building, but.. "Kuso." I knew I had messed up somewhere as I felt the cursed former spirit detective approach the door I stood in front of. The clues were there. The demonic scent, the way she could accept me so easily... Maybe he's just a friend? "Baka. Hiei no baka." And now, as Yuusuke opens the door, I only had one thought. What's he going to think when he finds out that I'M the one who's been laying with his MOTHER. Luckily my normal impassive demeanor masks my surprise as Yuusuke opens the door and mumbles something about being busy and telling Koenma to piss off.

I get the urge to run away before he realizes it.

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"Hiei, this is a bad time. Go see Kurama and come back later. My mom's invited some baka over for dinner and I can't leave for anything short of the end of the ... ... ... world." I barely finish my sentence as my mom defies gravity to launch herself through the door to tackle Hiei. Wow. Won't she feel silly when she realizes that's not her date. I snort out a short laugh. Hah! And now she's french kissing him ... and he's kissing back...

I faintly hear a dull thud, but I can't see where it's coming from because somebody turned off the lights.

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I pry my lips from my sweet little Hiei-chan's when I hear my son faint. He's passed out for some reason, did he sit for too long in seiza? I'd better introduce him before the big lug wakes up and opens his big mouth for some rude short joke or something.

"Um... Hiei. I know this isn't what you were expecting... but, that's my son passed out on the floor there. Probably a little older than you thought he'd be..." My voice fades out as I pray that he doesn't just run away, that he stays. Please don't run away baby.

Keiko's run up to collect my boy, but she pauses when she sees my guest with an odd look of (Is that surprise?) on her face. "Hiei-san?" She says with what is most certainly surprise. Wait, if she knows him, then it's a sure bet that Yuu-chan knows him. Which explains why he's passed out.

"You know each other?" I ask suspiciously. Tournaments, didn't Yuu-chan say something about a tournament when he was in school? Damn, I did miss a lot of stuff by not being sober.

"Atsuko-san, we're friends. Yuusuke met Hiei shortly after getting hit by that car and coming back to life." Keiko says as Hiei helpfully drags Yuusuke to a chair.

I look directly into Hiei's slightly surprised eyes. "Was my son in that tournament?"

"Hai. He defeated the tournaments previous champion. He's the strongest bastard I know." Jerk, just trying to downplay it. I didn't even realize that I almost lost my son again. I know I'm not the best mom, but, still.

"Anything else I should know? Let me guess, that "internship" he had was an excuse to go to the demon world or something."

Keiko speaks up surprisingly as she applies a wet rag to Yuu-chan's forehead. I'm going to rip him a new one for leaving me in the dark. Hiei was honest at least. "He died again, but he somehow came back to life. He had a demon ancestor that was able to revive him, only as a demon. He left to meet that ancestor and train."

Yuusuke finally starts coming to as the timer for the oven goes off.

"Ack, dinner!" I run off to save the food from burning, hoping that all will go well here. I mean, what's the worst that could happen. They're friends already, right?


End file.
